this is a specific discussion forum. the logic underlying his
decision to pull out of general debates without harper is strategically
understandable, if questionable - there's a cost-benefit analysis,
there. but, there's really only three reasons he could be seen to pull
out of something like this:
1) elizabeth may. i think
that's the big issue. he'd have been more likely to participate if it
were an all male debate, or if there were at least two women. but, he's
concerned that putting himself in a women's debate with a single female
candidate is something that cannot end well. and, i think everybody can
agree that he's probably right. that's something that trudeau's team
probably should have thought through a bit better. there is only one
possible winner of the debate.
2) the ndp is currently
leading in the female vote. he doesn't want to risk that by contrasting
himself with the other candidates.
3) how can i say
this? his personal hygiene and general appearance is not his utmost
priority. even with harper on the stage, he's clearly the least
attractive of the candidates. this is a kind of an intangible, but
mulcair is running a very psychologically-driven campaign and i have no
doubt that this is a big part of the calculus.
to be
honest with you, i'm not sure it's a great idea to have three or four
guys and a sixty year-old pro-life female minister get together and talk
women's rights, anyways. i don't see where that's going...
http://ipolitics.ca/2015/08/24/womens-issues-debate-called-off-after-mulcair-drops-out-organizers/
dtgraham
Personal hygiene? You can smell him through the TV? This is getting stupid at this point.
deathtokoalas
the beard is flat out gross. deal with it.
(deleted coment)
deathtokoalas
that
wasn't intended as an insult. nor am i suggesting that women are going
to just pick the cute one. but, there are complex psychological concerns
at play here that the mulcair campaign was no doubt aware of.
running
for prime minister is not a beauty contest, and this shouldn't be an
issue in the campaign. but, that doesn't mean that there aren't certain
optics that the mulcair campaign is going to seek to avoid, regarding
the context of him standing next to trudeau.
(deleted comment)
deathtokoalas
if
you would like to interpret my accurate observations as insults, that's
your prerogative. but, a true statement does not have a moral value
judgement attached to it. and, if you wish to cry over neutral and valid
observations, i would suggest you find yourself a nice, isolated
basement to do it in. once there, you won't have to deal with the
oppression of the real world anymore. and, there's a bonus for the rest
of us adults - we can discuss things openly, honestly and bluntly
without having to worry about hurting your feelings.
i
don't care if you're insulted or not. his appearance is unhygienic.
that's a problem his campaign is aware of and will need to manage.
and, i will continue to speak over your obfuscating, politically correct howls.
Diggersin
Not shaving is not unhygienic. You sound OCD.
deathtokoalas
see,
calling me ocd out of the blue is shitty form - that's the kind of
thing you don't do, unless you're an asshole and have it branded on your
t-shirt.
i live on disability for psychological
reasons. i do have symptoms that align with ocd, but they are not very
strong. your suspicion is mildly accurate.
but, it
doesn't change the reality the facial hair is, in fact, both unhygienic
on a practical level and unclean looking on an impressions level.
unlike
most of the people that post on these sites, i am neither paid to
support a party nor am i partisan hack. i'm interested in breaking
through the noise and providing an objective, fact-based analysis. and
i'm not concerned about tip-toeing around people's feelings as i do so.
fwiw,
my education is more broad than it is specialized. like many young
people, i was not able to determine what i wanted to study. in the
process, i ended up completing multiple partial degrees. i only have one
piece of paper, but you will find few people that have completed as
many credits as i have. and i'm very confident that i'm speaking from an
informed perspective.
if you are an expert in psychology, i would behoove you to expand upon my point rather than deflect from it.
dtgraham
Yes,
you are suggesting that women are going to just pick the cute one.
Otherwise why on earth would Mulcair have a problem with appearing on
stage with Trudeau at a women's issues debate when he has no problem
being on stage with him at any other debate that Harper attends? You
have a very shallow opinion of women voters. If what you're saying were
actually true, then Elizabeth May might as well skip it too.
deathtokoalas
i'm
sorry that you were not able to understand the subtlety of my
observations. it's a subconscious, psychological thing. and, it's not an
obscure point, either. it's well understood that we form opinions based
on first impressions, and that appearances are paramount in that
process. if you set up a debate about women's issues with a bunch of
dudes talking, you exacerbate that process. then, you end up with
unconscious biases.
again: mulcair is running a very
psychological campaign. this is first year stuff that his campaign is no
doubt aware of. you can bet it was a part of the calculus.
every
candidate has pros and cons. mulcair's a policy wonk, but he's kind of
creepy looking and that's a liability in certain contexts. you can
expect his campaign to continue to strategize around that.
i believe that the technical term for what i'm describing is "beardo".